Alford Gardner was born in Jamaica in 1926. As a teenager he signed up to serve in the RAF during the Second World War (1939–1945), working as an engineer (designing and building things) in England. After briefly returning to Jamaica, Gardner travelled back to the UK with his brother. Setting sail on a ship called HMT Empire Windrush, he arrived at Tilbury Docks, near London, in 1948. They were part of the “Windrush generation” that helped rebuild the country after the war.
However, on his return to the UK, Gardner faced racism (when people are treated unfairly because of the colour of their skin, culture or nationality), which made it difficult for him to find work or somewhere to live. Eventually he settled in Leeds, where he worked as an…